The Inner Path: Prerequisites to Making the Soul Visible To Living an Authentic Life

 The authentic self is soul made visible ~ Sarah Ban Breathnach

Being true to yourself, and living the truths and vision you find within. You may talk about living a happy life, a successful life, a meaningful life all the time, but an authentic life? You don't hear that too often, but it's a good question and one you should think about. Maybe you define success as earning plenty of money or having unlimited wealth, measured accomplishments, humanitarian efforts or peace of mind. Just as a successful life can be defined in many ways, so too can an authentic life. Being authentic means living your truths daily, not holding them only as thoughts. In other words, don't just believe what's truth, but live it...practice what you believe. To act out your deepest visions and to live a life that's filled with meaning and purpose.
But you have to know and understand the truths about you in order to be authentic. Those are what I call the prerequisites to living an authentic life.  Read on to see what you need to live an authentic life and what it takes to make your soul visible.


Prerequisites to living an authentic life:

• Knowing and trusting yourself:  Using your conscious and subconscious mind to listen within to hear the truths that are beyond the superficiality of day-to-day life and finding meaning and purpose in a way that resonates as truth with your soul, your heart and your head.  Knowing and trusting yourself goes beyond the inner chatter of everyday living. You may use prayer, meditation, or just sitting and thinking, but whatever method you use for guidance and awareness is where the truth resonates, living it daily. And if your truth changes, then change your action and begin living your new truth. Being authentic does not mean living the ultimate truth, whatever that may be. It means living the truth you know and feel within, today. It means trusting your deep inner wisdom.
• Exercising action: Once these truths are discovered, bring them to life by living them through conscious action. It is through action, not thought, that you become authentic. This is where your beliefs bears it fruit, through action.  So, living an authentic life means to act upon your belief.  It might mean following through by something, such as donating money or time to charitable causes, etc, as any of these would be a reflection of living an authentic life....making your soul visible.

Being inauthentic would be to believe it but not act upon it. Explore why you would believe something and not live it.  Maybe you don't act upon it because you're afraid or lazy or too busy putting it off to a more convenient time, but a good eye opener to you..... it's never convenient to be authentic and guess what....you act upon it whether it is pleasant or not, whether it's convenient or not. You do it because you know it's right, and because you know that being authentic is a step to self-actualization, realizing your full potential. That's why you'll here, to realize your full potential...your purpose.

It's a challenge, but we're all challenged in our life to find a code of conduct (religion, Christianity, morals, etc) that represents our deepest beliefs, and then to act upon them., but please remember and keep in mind that true spirituality is not to be found in beliefs, but in action.  So, don't get preoccupied, as the world does, with  immediate self-gratification and material success or where there are winners and losers in everything and it says be a winner at all costs, for these messages are in our face all the time on TV, magazines and the Internet. Unfortunately, this is the culture we presently find ourselves living in and it's important to know (awareness) and acknowledge this.

When you're being true to yourself, you deepen yourself immeasurably and find that joy, happiness and inner peace are your companions. And, you help change the atmosphere around you. Now, that's the true difference, the fact that many, many people will be affected by your actions, even those you don't know and have never met.  Wow, what awesome possibilities living an authentic life presents to you and all while fulfilling your full potential, and finding self-actualization... purpose.